Adjustable mounting element for electrical connectors utilizing a pair of l-shaped members

ABSTRACT

An adjustable mounting element for mounting a plurality of modular, interlocked electrical connectors having a pair of aligned, parallel recesses formed therein. The mounting element has a pair of adjustable, L-shaped members each having a base section and an arm section at right angles to each other. The Lshaped members are assembled together to form a rectilinear electrical connector receiving aperture with the arm section of each L-shaped member located beneath the base section of the other L-shaped member. A portion of each of the opposed, parallel arm sections is positioned within one of the electrical connector recesses to removably hold the electrical connectors. Means are provided for securing the arm sections of the L-shaped members with respect to the corresponding overlying base sections.

United States atent [191 Wilson [451 Apr. 9, 1974 ADJUSTABLE MOUNTING ELEMENT FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS UTILIZING A PAIR OF L-SHAPED MEMBERS [75] Inventor: Lester E. Wilson, Bedford, Mass.

[73] Assignee: Anderson Power Products, Inc.,

. Boston, Mass.

[22] Filed: Apr. 9, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 349,620

Primary ExaminerRichard E. Moore Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Chittick, Thompson &

Pfund [5 7] ABSTRACT An adjustable mounting element for mounting a plurality of modular, interlocked electrical connectors having a pair of aligned, parallel recesses formed therein. The mounting element has a pair of adjustable, L-shaped members each having a base section and an arm section at right angles to each other. The L-shapecl members are assembled together to form a rectilinear electrical connector receiving aperture with v the arm section of each L-shaped member located beneath the base section of the other L-shaped member. A portion of each of the opposed, parallel arm sec- [56] References Clted tions is positioned within one of the electrical connec- UNITED STATES PATENTS tor recesses to removably hold the electrical connecl-,870,274 8/1932 Wulfert et al 339/126 R tors. Means are provided for securing the arm sections 5 7/ 1962 Tymkewlcyw 339/ 126 R of the L-shaped members with respect to the corre- 3,316,524 4/1967 Pastor 339/126 R Sponding overlying base Sectiorm 3,648,219 3/1972 Goldman 339/45 M 9 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures RATENTEUAPR 9:914

fIIIIlIII/A FIGZ FIG. 5

FIGBA FIGBB /11 HWY/Ill IIIIIVIIIIIIIIIII FIG. 9A

gSOb

FIG. 9B

ADJUSTABLE MOUNTING ELEMENT FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS UTILIZING A PAIR OF L-SHAPED MEMBERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electrical connector mounting assemblies in general and, more particularly, to a mounting element for electrical connectors which utilizes a pair of L-shaped members.

Modular electrical connectors are currently being employed in a number of industries to provide an expandable system for making and breaking electrical power and control circuits. One example of such a modular electrical connector is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,218,599 issued Nov. 16, 1965 to Edward D. Winkler for ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR (hereinafter called the Winkler connector). The Winkler connector has a molded, one piece housing which is substantially rectangular in cross sectional outline. The housing is provided with longitudinally extended dovetail shaped tongues and grooves on opposite sides of the housing. The tongue and groove structure on each housing permits a plurality of electrical connectors to be assembled in side-by-side and/or superposed relation to provide a modular assembly or bank of electrical connectors which is adapted to be engaged by another bank of identical connectors. The modular interconnection of the Winkler connectors is described in US Pat. No. 3,259,870 issued July 5, 1966 to Edward D. Winkler for ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR.

In many instances it is desirable to assemble an interlocked bank of Winkler connectors and then removably secure the entire bank of interlocked connectors to a particular component, such as, a chassis or a bulkhead. One system for mounting such a bank of interlocked Winkler connectors is described in US. Pat. No. 3,648,219 issued Mar. 7, 1972 to Wayne E. Goldman for ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR MOUNTING RAIL AND DISCONNECTING ASSEMBLY. The preferred mounting rail described in US. Pat. No. 3,648,219 is an elongated C-shaped channel member with locking lips or flanges formed on the inner surfaces of the upper and lower walls thereof which engage corresponding aligned, parallel recesses formed in the Winkler connector. Transverse movement of the interlocked, connector bank within the C-shaped channel rail is prevented by means of tightening members, such as, bolts, at each end of the rail which are also used to secure the rail to the chassis or other component.

The mounting rail described in US. Pat. No. 3,648,219 and the Winkler electrical connectors are currently being manufactured and sold by Anderson Power Products, Inc., 145 Newton Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02135. The anodized, extruded aluminum mounting rail has proved to be very satisfactory in a wide variety of applications. The mounting rail can be cut to length to accommodate the desired number of modular, interlocked Winkler connectors in a single row of side-by-side connectors. However, if the assembly of interlocked connectors utilizes more than one row of connectors, i.e. stacked and interlocked in superposed as well as side-by-side relation, a wider extrusion must be used to accommodate the assembly. Thus, if the user wishes to assemble banks of interlocked Winkler connectors in a variety of configurations, he

must maintain a relatively large inventory of the mounting rails.

It is, accordingly, a general object of the present invention to provide an adjustable mounting element for mounting a plurality of modular, interlocked Winkler connectors.

It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a mounting element for modular, interlocked Winkler connectors which can be adjusted to accommodate side-by-side as well as superposed stacking of the interlocked connectors.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an adjustable mounting element in which the connector engaging portions of the mounting element are substantially co-planar.

It is a feature of the present invention that the user can modify the dimensions of the mounting element to meet his particular design requirements.

It is still another feature of the invention that the components of the mounting element are relatively inexpensive and can be easily fabricated from metal stampings.

These objects and other objects and features of the present invention will best be understood from a detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a plan view of two L-shaped members which are adjustably assembled together to form a rectilinear electrical connector receiving aperture;

FIG. 2 is a view in section taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing the base section of one of the L-shaped members;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the assembled L-shaped members of FIG. I mounted on a support with a plurality of interlocked, modular Winkler connectors held between the arm sections of the L-shaped members;

FIG. 4 is a view in cross-section taken along line 44 of FIG. 3 showing the position of the L-shaped member arm sections within the aligned, parallel recesses of the Winkler connector;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an alternate embodiment of the L-shaped members illustrating the snap-off portions of the L-shaped arm sections;

FIG. 6 is a view in cross-section taken along line 66 of FIG. 5 showing the base section of the L-shaped member;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of another embodiment of the L-shaped member;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are views in cross-section taken along lines 8A8A and 8B--8B of FIG. 7 showing two configurations for the base section of the L-shaped member; and,

FIGS. 9A and 9B are cross-sectional views taken along lines 9A--9A and 9B9B of FIG. 7 showing the two corresponding configurations for the portion of the arm section which is positioned within the aligned, parallel recesses of the Winkler connectors.

Turning now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 through 4 thereof, there is shown and adjustable mounting element indicated generally by the reference numeral 10 for mounting a plurality of modular, interlocked electrical connectors indicated generally by the reference numeral 12. The mounting element 10 comprises a pair of L-shaped members 14 and 16 each of which has a base section 18 and an arm section 20. Each L-shaped member base section 18 has an arm section receiving portion 22 which is adapted to receive the other L-shaped member arm section in superposed relation when the two L-shaped members are assembled together as shown in FIG. 3. The assembled L- shaped members 14 and 16 form a rectilinear electrical connector receiving aperture 24 within which the assembled interlocked modular electrical connectors 12 are releasably retained.

Each L-shaped member has an aperture 26 for securing the assembled mounting element to a support 28, such as, a chassis or panel by means of fasteners 30. The fasteners 30 also serve to secure each leg section with respect to the overlying base section 18.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 3 and 4, the adjustable mounting element 10 is designed to accommodate a plurality of interlocked, modular electrical connectors indicated generally by the reference numeral 12. Preferably, the electrical connectors 12 comprise the previously mentioned Winkler connectors described in US. Pat. Nos. 3,218,599 and 3,259,870. The Winkler connectors each have a molded, insulating housing 32, a spring-loaded electrical contact 34, two dovetailed tongues 36 and two corresponding dovetailed grooves 38. A plurality of the Winkler connectors 12 can be assembled by means of their interlocking tongues and grooves 36 and 38 in a variety of configurations to form a modular bank or assembly of connectors. One such configuration is depicted in FIG. 3.

Each one of the Winkler connectors 12 has two aligned channels or recesses 40 located on opposite sides of the connector as shown in FIG. 4. When the connectors are assembled in interlocked relation, as shown in FIG. 3, the individual connector recesses 40 are aligned to form a single, essentially continuous, recess along each side of the interlocked electrical connector assembly.

The interlocked connector assembly is positioned between the L-shaped members 14 and 16 and then the L-shaped members are moved in the directions shown by the arrows in FIG. 1 until the connector assembly butts up against each base section 18. The interlocked electrical connector assembly is releasably retained within the mounting element 10 by means ofleg section portions 20a which are positioned within the aligned, parallel recesses 40 of the connector assembly as shown in FIG. 4.

The mounting element embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 is designed to accommodate varying lengths of stacked, interlocked modular connectors in the X direction as viewed in the Figures. The adjustable mounting element of the present invention can also be adjusted to provide for varying widths of interlocked modular connectors in the Y direction as viewed in the drawings. In other words, the adjustable mounting element can provide both X and Y direction adjustability to accommodate varying lengths of stacked, superposed interlocked connectors as well as varying widths of side-by-side interlocked modular connectors.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the arrows indicate the X and Y directions of adjustment for the two L-shaped members 14 and 16. Looking at FIG. 5, the two arm sections 20 are speced apart by a distance which will accommodate one row of stacked, interlocked connectors, such as the single row shown in FIG. 3. Apertures threaded fastener elements 30. The length of the electrical connector receiving aperture 24 in the X direction is adjusted by moving the L-shaped members in the X direction until the selected aperture 42 is aligned beneath the base section aperture 26. Each base section 18 has at least two apertures 26 to provide a corresponding two position width adjustment for the L.- shaped members 14 and 16 in the Y direction.

Preferably, the arm sections 20 each have a plurality of spaced, transversely extending, structurally weakened zones 44. These zones allow the user to snap off a predetermined length of each arm section to adjust the length of the electrical connector receiving aperture 24 in the X direction without having a portion of the arm section extend beyond the base section 18. The spaced, transversely extending weakened zones 44 can be formed in the arm section 20 in a number of ways, such as, for example by scoring the arm section and/or by means of notches 46.

The incremental adjustment in the Y direction of the L-shaped members shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is determined by the placement of the base section apertures 26. However, the accurate positioning of the two L- shaped members in the Y direction to accommodate one or more side-by-side rows of interlocked connectors can be facilitated by employing the embodiment of the L-shaped members shown in FIGS. 7 through 9 of the drawings.

Looking at FIGS. 7, 8A and 9B, the arm section 20 has an electrical connector recess engaging edge 50 which extends upwardly from the plane of the arm section. The base section 18 has a plurality of concave downwardly grooves 48a which cooperate with the upwardly extending, single hem, edge portion 50a of the leg section shown in FIG. 9A. FIGS. 83 and 9B illustrate a variation in the shape of the upwardly extending, arm section edge portion 50. In this case, the arm section 20 has a rolled edge 50b which engages the corresponding downwardly concave grooves 48b in the base section 18. Although only one L-shaped member has been shown in FIG. 7, it will be appreciated that the other L-shaped member is a duplicate thereof.

The L-shaped members 14 and [6 of the present invention can be fabricated from a variety of relatively inexpensive materials. One suitable fabrication technique is stamping the L-shaped members from sheet metal stock. The L-shaped members can also be molded from thermoplastic or thermosetting materials for use in environments which are destructive to metal.

Having described in detail the preferred embodiments of my invention, it will now be obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the apended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A mounting element for mounting a plurality of modular, interlocked electrical connectors having a pair of aligned, parallel recesses formed therein, said mounting element comprising:

a pair of L-shaped members each having a base section and an arm section which are normal to each other, said L-shaped members being assembled together to form a rectilinear electrical connector receiving aperture with the arm section of each L-shaped member located beneath the base section of the other L-shaped member and with a portion of each arm section positioned within one of said electrical connector recesses to retain said electrical connectors; and,

means for securing the arm section of each L-shaped member with respect to the overlying base section of the other L-shaped member.

2. The mounting element of claim 1 wherein said L- shaped members are secured with respect to each other to form a rectangular electrical connector receiving aperture.

3. The mounting element of claim 1 wherein said L- shaped members are secured with respect to each other to form a square electrical connector receiving aperture.

4. The mounting element of claim 1 wherein each L- shaped member arm section is planar and each L- shaped member base section has an arm section receiving portion adapted to receive the other L-shaped member arm section in superposed relation thereto so that both L-shaped member arm sections are co-planar when the L-shaped members are assembled to form said rectilinear electrical connector receiving aperture.

5. The mounting element of claim 4 wherein the portion of each L-shaped member arm section positioned within one of said electrical connector recesses has a rolled edge.

6. The mounting element of claim 4 wherein the portion of each L-shaped member arm section positioned within one of said electrical connector recesses has a single hem edge.

7. The mounting element of claim 4 wherein the portion of each L-shaped member arm section positioned within one of said electrical connector recesses extends upwardly from the plane of said arm section and wherein each of said L-shaped member base sections includes means cooperatively associated with the upwardly extending arm section portion of the other L- shaped member for accurately positioning said arm sections at a predetermined distance apart when said L-shaped members are assembled together.

8. The mounting element of claim 1 wherein each L- shaped member arm section has a plurality of spaced, transversely extending, structurally weakened zones whereby the user of the mounting element can decrease the length of the arm section by snapping off a portion thereof at a selected one of said weakened zones.

9. The mounting element of claim 8 wherein said weakened zones are formed by notching the edges of said arm section. 

1. A mounting element for mounting a plurality of modular, interlocked electrical connectors having a pair of aligned, parallel recesses formed therein, said mounting element comprising: a pair of L-shaped members each having a base section and an arm section which are normal to each other, said L-shaped members being assembled together to form a rectilinear electrical connector receiving aperture with the arm section of each L-shaped member located beneath the base section of the other L-shaped member and with a portion of each arm section positioned within one of said electrical connector recesses to retain said electrical connectors; and, means for securing the arm section of each L-shaped member with respect to the overlying base section of the other L-shaped member.
 2. The mounting element of claim 1 wherein said L-shaped members are secured with respect to each other to form a rectangular electrical connector receiving aperture.
 3. The mounting element of claim 1 wherein said L-shaped members are secured with respect to each other to form a square electrical connector receiving aperture.
 4. The mounting element of claim 1 wherein each L-shaped member arm section is planar and each L-shaped member base section has an arm section receiving portion adapted to receive the other L-shaped member arm section in superposed relation thereto so that both L-shaped member arm sections are co-planar when the L-shaped members are assembled to form said rectilinear electrical connector receiving aperture.
 5. The mounting element of claim 4 wherein the portion of each L-shaped member arm section positioned within one oF said electrical connector recesses has a rolled edge.
 6. The mounting element of claim 4 wherein the portion of each L-shaped member arm section positioned within one of said electrical connector recesses has a single hem edge.
 7. The mounting element of claim 4 wherein the portion of each L-shaped member arm section positioned within one of said electrical connector recesses extends upwardly from the plane of said arm section and wherein each of said L-shaped member base sections includes means cooperatively associated with the upwardly extending arm section portion of the other L-shaped member for accurately positioning said arm sections at a predetermined distance apart when said L-shaped members are assembled together.
 8. The mounting element of claim 1 wherein each L-shaped member arm section has a plurality of spaced, transversely extending, structurally weakened zones whereby the user of the mounting element can decrease the length of the arm section by snapping off a portion thereof at a selected one of said weakened zones.
 9. The mounting element of claim 8 wherein said weakened zones are formed by notching the edges of said arm section. 